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Céleste Beaumont
Josephine Madeleine Céleste Beaumont (29 April 3240) is a renowned Central Galactic Marine Corps, and former Imperial Navy Marine Corps, general officer and is the current Chairperson of the Joint Staff. Previously, she was Personal Adjutant to the Emperor during the reign of Maximilian. Prior to assuming general officer rank, she was an officer of the Imperial Marines and earned fame both in the battles against insurrectionists and during the Great War as a special forces commander. She led a team of joint-service special forces known as Beaumont's Raiders during the planetary assaults on the Soviet Republic and later during counter-terrorist operations domestically, which earned her numerous decorations for merit. She is the youngest person to serve in a position of leadership among a staff of general officers. Beaumont is also known for being one of the first total-body cyborgs to serve in such a role. Early life and education Céleste was born in April 3240 to Rear Admiral Pénélope Beaumont and Lieutenant Commander Daniel J. Beaumont. Both of her parents were career Navy officers and came from military families. Beaumont's mother was descended from Franco-Terran spacers who had lived on space habitats in the Cassiopeian Frontier province for generations, and had likewise been Terran naval personnel for generations. Her father was born on Earth and came from a Marine Corps family settled in North America, but he joined the Imperial Navy to "see the frontier". Céleste was born and raised at the orbital habitat Goshen Station, in orbit around the planet Gesem IV in the Exodus Star Cluster. She was born with temporal lobe epilepsy and osteogenesis imperfecta, a type of congenital brittle-bone disease. Her mother, a conservative Catholic, refused gene therapy despite being informed of the risks. At a little over a year old, she began having unexplained seizures that shattered her bones, which were confirmed to be epileptic. Céleste received significant cybernetic augmentation, at age 8 having a total skeleton replacement. The synthetic carbon-fibre "bones" were designed to telescopically expand as she grew. She had computer chips installed to help regulate her brain chemistry and prevent grand mal seizures. At age 15, she had her limbs replaced with complete prosthetics. She attended elementary and secondary school at the Naval Children's Centre, a school for the children of naval and Marine personnel which provided comprehensive education from ages 5 to 18. She enlisted in the Imperial Navy Marine Corps and began participation in the Marine ROTC program at age 17, and went to the Naval Academy at Thebes from 3258 to 3262. She graduated with honors and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Military service Céleste enlisted in the Marines just before graduating high school. In May 3258, she shipped off for the Thebes recruiting depot and went through Marine Corps recruit training until August 3258 when she graduated basic training and began studies at the planet's Naval Academy. In summers in-between classes, she took platoon- and company-level leadership courses at the Marine Officer Candidate School. She graduated in 3262 with a commission as a Second Lieutenant. Beaumont was placed in command of 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion of the 199th Marines regiment, 20th Marine Division. The 20th Marine Division was posted on garrison duty in orbit of the planet Minos in the Sagittarian March. However, soon after Célest's appointment, the 20th Marine Division was deployed to Caelomex in the Banat province. The region had been unstable for a long time, earning the moniker "Space Mexico". Several Marine Divisions were redeployed to police the region and put down a series of rebellions by the Colonial Liberation Organization. The CLO orchestrated a coup against the planetary government on the industrial world Burtuqali. The 20th Division made landfall on February 6 3264, engaging rebel forces over the course of gruelling house-to-house fighting in numerous urban centres; Beaumont earned the Bronze Star and the Silver Star for meritorious action during the initial battle. The regimental commander, Colonel Yusuf Hook, was captured a few days into the fighting. Once intelligence pinpointed his location, Beaumont's platoon was dispatched to mount a resuce operation in April 3264. The attempt was a disaster and almost all of the entire platoon was destroyed. Céleste allowed herself to be captured by rebel soldiers in order to find Colonel Hook and rescue him. They escaped two days after her capture, and were evacuated. For conspicuous gallantry, she was awarded the Navy Cross. A month later, she was grievously injured from a grenade blast; shrapnel damaged her face and torso, requiring cybernetic surgery replacing damaged organs as well as facial reconstructive surgery. She was awarded a Wound Badge and given medical leave to recuperate from her surgeries. In the intervening time, Imperial Marines crushed the CLO rebellion in the Banat. Beaumont returned to active duty in November 3264, and was reassigned as battalion executive officer for the 5th Battalion of the 212th Marines regiment. The 212th was posted as the orbital garrison for the planet Kojima. On September 8 3265, Beaumont was pulled out of her post to join a team of special forces operatives in foiling the terrorist capture of an orbital military research station. The terrorists claimed to be CLO revolutionaries, and planned to de-orbit the station into one of Kojima's major cities. Beaumont, as the ranking officer of the assembled group, led the team in infiltrating the station and foiling the terrorist plot. The next morning, the team was constituted as the 71st Studies and Observations Group, and was redeployed to combat duties in the Great War as saboteurs and special forces. The group came to be known as "Beaumont's Raiders" during their Great War service. Céleste was promoted to the rank of Captain, and the 71st SOG was expanded to a company-sized unit with a large technical and air support staff. Beaumont and many other members of the 71st SOG were highly decorated. After the pacification of a human-inhabited Soviet world in July 3267, the Raiders took part in a victory parade. Resistance operatives attacked the parade with suicide bombings, killing three Raiders and injuring Beaumont. Céleste was so grievously injured by the shrapnel that she received a full-body prosthetic graft. Her brain, parts of her nervous system, and some major organs were able to be saved and were integrated into a fully cybernetic body. She returned to active duty again in January 3268. The unit had been led in the meantime by Air Officer Hervé Morrison, the unit's chief tactician and executive officer. In June 3268, Lieutenant Junior Grade Damien, the team's robotic demolitions specialist, was granted command of his own battalion of special forces. He became a naval Lieutenant and began service as commanding officer of the 72nd Studies and Observations Group. Beaumont's unit was replenished with new recruits from the Imperial Strategic Intelligence Agency, including a young recently-discharged William McGrady and Zenzi Rothschild, as well as then-mercenary and future State Security leadership figures Xander Vox and Brian Kessar. The 71st SOG engaged in counterterrorist action at home during the next few years, during which she was promoted to the rank of Colonel in command of the 71st SOG. However, in 3270, William McGrady was assigned as the political handler of Beaumont's Raiders, essentially making him the commander of her unit. In 3271, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed by Emperor Maximilian himself to the position of Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor. She served in this role for the duration of the Great War, giving advice from the perspective of a veteran field officer. During one General Staff meeting in mid-3272, she suggested a policy that became known as the Beaumont Doctrine. The policy was developed as the standardized method of evaluating an occupied world for its habitation value and deploying mass-destruction techniques on worlds deemed uninhabitable or of limited habitability. The Beaumont Doctrine was used to great effect during the Great War, by conducting bombing campaigns from orbit rather than risky landings, especially in the case of the campaign against the Vryst. Beaumont was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the success the Empire saw in the application of her strategy. In the reorganization of the Terran military after the dissolution of the Empire and the formation of the Central Galactic Union, the Imperial General Staff was reformed as the Joint Military Staff. Beaumont was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in recognition of her war service, and appointed to the position of Chairperson of the Joint Staff. Chairperson of the Joint Military Staff Personal Life Summary of Army and State Security career Enlisted in the Imperial Navy Marine Corps on 9 June 3257. Went to Basic Training from 13 May to 20 August 3258. Attended Thebes Naval Academy from 25 August 3258 to 4 May 3262. Commissioned an Officer of the Marine Corps on 4 May 3262. Assigned to 3rd Platoon, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 199th Marines Regiment, of the 20th Marines Division from 15 May 3262 to 1 November 3264. Assigned to Company HQ, Delta Company, 5th Rifle Battalion, 212th Marines Regiment, of the 33rd Marines Division from 6 November 3264 to 8 September 3265. Assigned to 71st Studies and Observations Group from 8 September 3265 to 3 November 3270. Commissioned a General of the Marine Corps on 3 November 3270. Appointed Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor from 3 November 3270 to 20 April 3275. Appointed Chairperson, Joint Staff on 20 April 3275. Dates of rank *Recruit (E-0) 9 June 3257. *Private (E-1) 20 August 3258. *Cadet (O-0) 25 August 3258 *Second Lieutenant (O-1) 4 May 3262. *Lieutenant (O-2) 5 November 3264. *Captain (O-3) 30 November 3265. *Colonel (O-6) 25 December 3269. *Lieutenant General(O-9) 3 November 3270. *Field Marshal (O-13) 20 April 3275. Notable decorations *Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross *Iron Cross *Navy Cross *War Merit Cross *Silver Star *Bronze Star *Military Spaceflight Badge *Infantry Assault Badge (in Silver) *Close Combat Badge (in Gold) *Wound Badge (6 times) *Navy Service Medal with Eagle and Oak Leaves *Great War Special Service Medal Behind the scenes